Today I am making laundry soap. I am trying a new recipe. I have experienced some problems with the old recipe I have been using. I have been making my own laundry soap for about 2 years now. The problem is that my towels, dishcloths, washcloths, napkins etc have become very non absorbent. It is like they have a water repellent on them. I am not joking. I can have a spill, put a napkin down on it, leave it and come back in about l min. and the spill is still there. The napkin is just laying there on top of the spill. I have tried lots of different things to solve this problem and none of them seem to help. I have used vinegar in the rinse, used fabric softener, not used fabric softener. It is still the same. I came across this recipe at the Hillbilly Housewife. It is a little different from my old one. We’ll see how it works. Hopefully this will fix my problem.

Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipe

1 bar of Fels Naptha soap, shaved

4 cups of hot water to melt the soap

3 gallons of hot water

1 cup of borax

2 cups of washing soda

1 cup of baking soda

1 large Rubbermaid container about 4-5 gallons size

Here’s what you do:
Grate the soap into a saucepan. You can use either a box grater or a food processor for this. I recommend you do not use whatever tool you use for grating soap with food. I was able to buy an extra food processor very inexpensively at a thrift store.

Add 4 cups of hot water to the pan. Simmer on low until the soap melts completely into the water.

Add borax, washing soda and baking soda to the hot water. Simmer on low until it desolves with the soap. If the mixture is not melting, add more water if needed.

Add 3 gallons of hot water to the large container. Add the mixture to the hot water. Mix with a large spoon until it
completely dissolves.
Let cool overnight. You will notice that it turns into a thick gel. Use 1 cup of this homemade laundry detergent per load of laundry.